Q362 :People say that our names together with the
names of our marriage partners have been written down long before we
are born. How much of this is true? Is every one’s marriage partner
chosen by Allah’s will or do people’s efforts play any part in
that?
A362 : People are often confused with regard to the
meaning of predetermination of Allah’s will and His prior knowledge of
matters. Sometimes they think that no matter how they behave in
particular circumstances, what is preordained will nete to pass. This
may lead some people to say that there is no need to work hard in order
to earn their living and to be able to look after their families
because they will only get what Allah has predetermined, whether they
work or not. If we were to take this simple view, a fundamental
question arises which must be answered: Why does Allah hold us to
account for our deeds? Before we answer this question, let us define
some essential terms. Predetermination means that something has been
fixed in advance by Allah and man cannot change it in any way and by
whatever means he employs, unless Allah Himself wishes to change it.
Examples of these are the times when the person dies or when he is
born, the fact that human beings are subject to the laws of nature
which Allah has operated in the universe, and on earth in particular.
Allah’s knowledge is absolute and free of the restrictions of time and
place. This means that this knowledge has always been with Him. Nothing
is added to it and nothing is deleted or omitted. In other words, it is
not possible to imagine a point in time when Allah did not know
something or when a particular piece of information has been added to
His knowledge. Time is the result of the succession of day and night
according to the 24-hour cycle. Since the succession of day and night
occurs as a result of the movement of the earth, it applies to earth
only. Our days, weeks, months and years are only relevant to this
planet on which we live. Other planets have their own years and days
according to their position in relation to the sun. On the basis of
these definitions, Allah has always known long before He created man,
how many human beings would be on the face of the earth at any
particular moment in time, their ages, names, living places, work,
families, etc. As far as your question is concerned, Allah certainly
knew before you were born at what point in time you will get married
and to whom you will be married and how long your marriage would last
and how many children would be born to you and what names you will give
them, etc. As I have already mentioned, nothing is added to Allah’s
knowledge as a result of any particular incident or development. Does
this mean that the marriage of a particular person is preordained in
this sense that the choice is made for him or her by Allah? The answer
is no. The marriage of a person takes place as the culmination of
efforts which have been made by him or his family or his friends, etc.
We look at it in the same way as we look at any event in our life.
Allah has set certain laws which operate in human life and these affect
marriages as they do affect other matters in our lives. There is a
basic law which applies to all things in our lives, namely, the law of
cause and effect. You may take a decision today to travel from the city
in which you live to another. That decision is taken freely by you at
your own behest, for a particular purpose. When you have arrived in the
city, suppose you meet a person who learns that you are skillful in a
particular field. He happens to know someone who is keen to find a
person with your skills. He makes the introduction and you enter into a
contract by which you pledge to do a certain service to the other
person in return for an agreed fee. If you did not go to that city, or
if you did not meet that person, the whole thing would not have taken
place. Here we have the law of cause and effect operating. Now Allah
has known long before you or the other person were born that this will
take place. Does it mean that you moved toward it blindly without any
choice on your part? If you look at the circumstance, you will answer
in the negative because you felt the terms offered were tempting or
reasonable or whatever. The same applies to marriage and to all other
activities in human life. Allah knows those activities before they take
place, but that does not mean that we are simply moved along like
pawns. Allah has given us our free will and the ability to choose
between alternatives. It is Allah’s will that we make use of what He
has given us of ability to choose and freedom of choice. It is also His
will that we are affected by the choice we make.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )